Ottawa\u0027s captain has a fight, an assist and the game\u002Dtying and game\u002Dwinning goals on Friday night.
To top that off, he picked up a second period assist and had a spirited fight in the middle of the ice with the Rangers’ Jacob Trouba.Advertisement 3“There’s not much more you can ask of a guy,” said Senators coach D.J. Smith. “And he’s just so much calmer on the bench than in year’s past. It’s just understanding what he has to do to win.”Zibanejad, the former Senators first-round pick, had broken a 1-1 tie at the 6:03 mark of the third period, burying his 12th goal of the season past Talbot.
After Zibanejad’s goal, the Senators continued to push, and they were finally rewarded on the goal by Tkachuk, who offered a little bit of everything. There was plenty of push and shove — the Tkachuk-Trouba second-period fight had the feel of a Madison Square Garden main event bout — befitting the second game of a home-and-away series.Article content
There was perseverance and plenty of bumps and bruises involved for a Senators team that isn’t finding the net easily these days.Article content Familiarity bred contempt. Or, rather familiarity bred the desire to turn the tables on the Rangers after New York outmuscled the Senators in front of both nets two nights earlier.
The Senators had every opportunity to take control of the game early, handed a four-minute power play when the Rangers’ Filip Chytil received a double-minor for high-sticking.